Opening closure panel and fastening means



April 17, 1956 H. OSWALD 2,742,312

OPENING CLOSURE PANEL AND FASTENING MEANS Filed June 14, 1.95]

III/II IN VEN TOR.

A TTORA/EYS United States Patent OPENING CLOSURE PANEL AND FASTENING MEANS Joseph H. Oswald, South Euclid, Ohio Application June 14, 1951, Serial him-231,480 6 Claims. Cl. 292-441 The invention relates to movably mounted panelclosures such as storm sashes for windows, window screens, porch enclosures, and the like and fastening means therefor.

It is an object of the invention to provide a frame and movable closure panel structure with a fastener of lever type having its parts so constructed and arranged in relation to each other and to the frame and panel that a force Patented Apr. 11, 1 956 The lever 1 is preferablydieformed from a single piece of sheet metal and has nearone end a pair ,of parallel ears 4, 5 apertured to receive the unthreaded part of the shank of a screw 2, asshownlin Fig. 3,, The .upperend of the lever is also formed with a central open-ended slot 6 to receive theshankof a screwfi and permit'engagement of the lever at the sides of slot 6, withthe under surface of the head ofscrew 3 when the lever is moved from a horizontal position to thevertical position. shown in Figs..1 and 3; thejslot-6 being :substantiallyjuniform in widthv to ensurethes'tated engagement! As shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of the lever adjacentslot 6 preferably is curved on lines somewhat eccentric to the axis of pivot apertures of cars 4 and 5,.the-parts being thus formed and arrangedsothatthe extreme upper end ofthe lever will clear the'face'of the panel when the; lever is"rnoved from; open position intoen'gagernent with screw 3 and will also have a tightening cam action onthe head of screw 3 when the lever ismoved'downward'to its'vertical, locking position. i In connection with this last noted action, it will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 3 that the ears 4 and 5, attheir bases, extend from the adjacent end of the lever, toward its free end, a distance somewhat greater than th'e length of the slot 6 and serve to stiffen and strengthen the slotted portion of the lever:-

' The body of" leven 1 is curved somewhatand its free:

. end is bent more'sharply toward the 'panel B so-that when which is adjustable to vary the force required for its operation so that it can bemade inoperable by a small child.

Another object of the invention is to provide a levertype fastener having a lever member which is made of relatively light gauge sheet metal stock and yet is amply strong because of its shape and the manner in which it is pivotally supported. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastener having a lever member constructed and arranged to hold a panel closed in' one position of the lever and to hold the panel open in another position of the lever.

With the foregoing objects in view the invention consists in certain forms, combinations and arrangements of parts as defined in appended claims and explained in the following description having reference to the accompanying drawing, t

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 shows means embodying the invention as applied to a window frame and pivotally mounted storm sash.

The view shows a portion of the frame and sash structures in vertical section and shows the fastening means for the sash in side elevation except that a portion of the fastening lever is broken away to show the stem of the lever in vertical longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the fastener lever arranged to hold the storm sash in open position.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the fastener looking outward toward the storm sash with the fastener in the closed position shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the fastener lever, the section being taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a modified form of fastener lever suitable for window screens.

Referring in detail to the construction illustrated the device comprises a lever generally designated by the numeral 1, a headed wood screw 2 which serves when attached to the blind stop A of the window frame to provide a pivotal support for the lever and a second headed wood screw 3 designed to be attached to the inner face of the storm sash B or other panel member for engagement as a keeper with the lever 1.

the lever is in the closed position shown in Fig.' 1 the body of the lever is spaced from thevf'ace of the panel B to permit the lever to be Conveniently grasped when the fastener is to be released; At'its free, bent end the lever 1 is formed witha key hole-aperture 7 the larger part of which is designed to pass over the head of'screwfa and the narrow part of whichis designed, to engage the under side of the headflof said-screw when theleveris moved to the position showmin Fig-'2, thus seiving as means for effectively holding the stormsash in open position for ventilation, p I f t It will be notedthatthe main' body of the lever 1 is formed with a longitudinal rib which stijfens' the lever and permits employment of a lighter gauge of metal than would otherwise be,- required,- This; rib construction terminates short of the freeend of thelever so that the latter can be bent somewhat by the workman who installs the device, as will later be explained, "1: p

Itwill be observed from the drawings that the screw 3 is applied tothe stormsash B, or otherpanel sothat said screw is at a somewhat lower level than the pivot screw 2 when the panel is in closed position. There are two reasons for this relative arrangement of the two screws. From an inspection of Fig. 1 it will be observed that with the fastener lever in the closed position any force applied to the panel in a direction to open it is transmitted through screw 3 to the lever 1 in a direction tending to hold the lever in its closed or locking position. In addition, the relative arrangement of' the screws permits adjustment of the screw 3afterthe fastener has been i installed.

Inthe installation of the improved fastener the work can, if desired, be facilitated by the use of a simple jig to suitably locate the screws '2 and 3 in relation to each other. When the lever 1 has been attached to the blind stop by means of screw 2 and the screw 3 has been attached to the panel the ditferenceiin levels of the two screws permits application of a screw driver to the screw 3 (whilethe fastener is closed) for suitable adjustment thereof to secure the desired cam action of thelever on the screw. Furthermore, the possibility of so adjusting screw 3 renders it easy at any time to so adjust screw 3 that a very substantial force must be applied to the lever 1 to lock and unlock the'fastener. This makes the device inoperable by a small child and is a safety feature of considerable importance, especially where the fasteners are used on upper story windows.

' The free end of the'leverl isintended tobe formed sothat when the leveris in the open position shown in Fig. 2 the extreme end edge of the lever will engage the panelmember while the'surface of the lever adjacent the restrictedpart of the key hole aperture 7 engages the underside of the head of screw 3, thepurpose of this being to'prevent rattling of the panel in a strong wind. By the ribbed lever construction shown the free end of the lever is'more-flexible than the ribbed part of the lever and the workman installing the-fastener-can readily bend-the end of'the lever with a pair of pliers, if-necd-be, to secure thestated efiect. it. I

It will .be seen thatthe fastener is of exceedingly simple construction, being formed of three parts, including the two screws which may be of standardmass produced form.

' The third (lever) member may be' easily. die-formed of ientlyto close the fastener or to open it to the position shown in Fig. 2.

When the fastener is to function merely as a device for holding the panel in closed position, as in the case of a window screen, a shorter lever in, as shown in Fig. 5

of the drawingspmay be employed, thus somewhat reducing the cost of the lever. v v

' The invention is not limited to the specific forms of construction shown and described, and these forms may be modified in'the practice of the invention within the bounds of the appended'claims.

What is claimed isi 1 1. The combination with a building opening 'frame and a m'ovableclosu're panel therefor of-fastening means for the'pan'el comprising a supporting pivot anchored in the frame and projecting parallel to the plane of theframe into the opening thereof, a lever having at one end a pair of laterally separated ears projecting from one of its sides and formed-with mutually'aligned apertures operatively engaging the supporting pivot, the lever being shapedto contact the inner face of the-panel at a point remote from the supporting pivot when the panel andthe lever are in their closed positions and having a longitudinal-slot of substantially uniform width that opens through the pivot end of the lever and extends between its pivot ears to a point that is nearer the panel-engaging part of the lever than is the pivotal axis of the lever, and a headed keeper screw anchored in the panel and projecting from the inner face thereof in a position, when the panel is closed, that permits it to be engaged in the lever slot with the under surface of its head engaging the surfaces of the lever adjacent the slot and that is at least as near to the said contact point as is the supporting pivot.

2. Frame, closure panel and fastening means as claimed in claim 1 in which the keeper screw, when the panel and fastener lever are in their closed positions, is substantially offset from the supporting pivot toward the contact point between the lever and the closed panel.

3. Frame, closure panel and fastening means as claimed in claim 1 in which the free end of the lever contacts the inner face of the panel when the panel and lever are in their closed positions.

4. As an article of manufacture an elongated lever having a pair of laterally separated ears which project from one side of the lever and extend from one end thereof toward its other end and have mutually aligned pivot apertures, the lever also being formed between the bases of the ears with an open-ended slot of a substan tially' uniform width that is substantially less than the distance between the ears and extending longitudinally of the lever from its opening through the adjacent end thereof to a point at least as-near the other end of the lever as is the axis of the pivot apertures.

5. The article of manufacture of claim 4 in which the lever has its freeend extended laterally from its side and in a direction opposite to the pivot ears.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 4 in which the surfaces of the lever between its ears and the longitudinal sides of the lever slot are eccentric to the pivot axis of the lever and increase in radial distance from the said axis progressively toward the open end of the slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 656,633 Dutton Aug. 28, 1900 1,023,647 Hill Apr. 16, 1912 1,596,183 Horlick Aug. 17, 1926 2,225,163 Dohrman Dec. 17, 1940 2,554,455 Casey et al. May 22, 1951 I FOREIGN PATENTS 411,518 Great Britain June 7, 1934 

